Family Photography in Hadapsar, Pune

Everybody has a view

In a family session, everybody present has an opinion and most of them are offered aloud.

Where to stand, who should be next to whom, whether the light is right, and whether it would be better over there instead.

It is well meant and it is the single most common reason these sessions take twice as long as they need to.

The workable structure is to agree one person as the point of contact before we start, and for everybody else to be arranged rather than consulted.

That sounds brisk and it is what makes the session pleasant. Twenty minutes of efficient arranging beats an hour of committee.

It is worth saying that this is not about ignoring anybody. Requests are welcome and they are collected at the start rather than during.

Anyone with a particular combination they want simply says so beforehand, and it goes on the list with everything else.

The disagreement that causes the most trouble is about formality, and it splits by generation rather than by branch.

Older relatives generally expect arranged photographs where everybody is standing properly. Younger ones generally want something relaxed.

Doing only one produces a set that half the family finds wrong, and doing both takes about ten extra minutes.

The order matters: arranged first, while people are tidy and willing, then relaxed once everybody has loosened up.

Attempting it the other way round almost never works, because nobody will submit to being arranged after they have been allowed to relax.

That single ordering decision resolves most of what makes family sessions difficult.